Obviously, these are tips for getting to PDX during Snowpocalypse ‘08. Getting to the airport on Tri-Met under normal circumstances is generally a breeze. Not so yesterday. Here is my experience and some tips, from someone who spent 3.5 hours on slogging her way a few miles from inner NE Portland to PDX and then back home again.
The biggest lesson? I’ll give props to Tri-Met for terrific service and information, despite horrible road and weather conditions. However, PDX and the airlines could use a lesson or two on utilizing technology, technology they already have implemented I might add, for better and more accurate communications. This is where problems and communications breakdowns really seemed to occur, and I believe a whole bunch of hassle could have been avoided if the airlines and PDX simply made it a priority to post updated information as quickly as possible, even if that information is, “we don’t have any information yet.” People want honesty and transparency and basically just want to know true facts so they can make up their own minds. One of the issues? KGW and other news sources were announcing cancellations, directly from interviews with ticket agents and other airline representatives. Yet the “official” sources on the PDX site and airline sites would have those flights listed as “on-time”, even hours after the news announced they were canceled. Who to believe? Oh, and good luck calling your airline directly. Alaska and Horizon had solid busy signals at least from 8AM to 6PM (when I finally gave up trying).
So onto my tips for PDX travel during this heinous weather:
1. Do not believe what your airline states online with regards to cancellations. Apparently, and according to the Alaska ticket agent at PDX, the airlines can take up to two hours to relay updated info onto their websites and to PDX, despite what the “last updated” time stamp on the website’s page states.
2. Do not believe the flight arrival/departure information on the PDX website. See# 1 above for explanation.
3. Do not rely on the “text message updates” or “email updates” option from your airline. My flight was officially canceled at 1PM for a 2PM flight (but “unofficially” canceled much earlier than that). I received a text message from my airline at 6 PM telling me my flight was canceled. That’s 5 hours AFTER the airline canceled the flight. Annoying? You betcha.
4. Plan your trip on Tri-Met carefully, have a plan B and even C in order, and call Tri-Met to verify things are still running on time, or running at all. Once again, do not rely on their website. I waited for the #6 bus for 30 minutes, despite different info on the Tri-Met site checked on my Iphone while waiting at the stop. I finally called the Trimet 238-RIDE number with my bus stop ID, only to be told, “We can not say when the next bus will arrive.” I then drove to the Irvington area and walked several blocks to MAX (my plan B).
5. Give yourself 3-4 times the amount it would normally take you to get to the airport, and budget getting to the airport 3 hours before your flight leaves. At least.
6. Don’t assume just because Tri-Met is running a shuttle bus (because the MAX tracks were frozen) from the Gateway MAX to PDX that it is a quick and direct shuttle. It isn’t. We made several stops and detours along the way. It took 30 minutes to get from Gateway to the Airport and the shuttles were packed with people. There were also 10-20 minute wait times for shuttles to arrive.
7. Common sense: remember to dress appropriately, drink plenty of fluids and eat before your leave the house (or bring snacks). There is nothing worse than being hungry, dehydrated and cold/wet for hours.
8. I’m not even going to comment on how to deal with the massive lines and chaos at the airport itself. It’s just too traumatic for me to write about right now. Which brings me to my last tip -
8. Mentally prepare yourself. Remember that stress levels are high for everyone right now. A smile, small acts of kindness towards others and patience make things easier. If you find yourself getting stressed, losing your temper or FREAKING OUT then take a time out. Take a deep breath, find a quiet corner or bench and sit for a minute and/or reach out and talk to someone. Remember that we are all pretty much in the same circumstances and we are all pretty much in this together. And believe it or not, it can always be worse than it is.
Resources: Trimet – www.trimet.org or call 503-238-ride
PDX Airport – www.pdx.com (but don’t believe what you read!) or 503-460-4040
Multnomah County Mental Health Crises Line (you might need it) – (503) 988-4888
Good Luck, Bon Voyage, and Happy Holidays.
{ 2 comments }
Oh, lordy…
Thank you for posting this! Especially # 8.
We’re supposed to try to fly to Atlanta tomorrow:
(The airport website won’t even load)
I may have to print this out & keep it close to my heart.
I looked at the TriMet site and saw this note at the top of the page:
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